Misunderstandings of Fate
by MrsGPotter2
Summary: Time Travel Fic! When James and Lily believe Ginny is trying to kidnap baby Harry chaos will ensue. Fun, Fights, and Misunderstandings. Bad Summery. JamesxLily HarryxGinny Please Read and Review. Rated T just in case.
1. Live to Regret

**Disclaimer**: Unfortunately I do not live in Scotland and I'm not J.K. Rowling. I own Nothing!

This is my second fanfic and my first time travel fic...enjoy, and let me know what you think!

**Chapter 1 - Live to Regret**

Lily and James Potter walked through the door of their home in Godric's Hollow after a rare evening out. James's best friend Sirius Black had been babysitting their one year old son Harry while they went out to dinner magically disguised so they could evade the Death Eaters that were scouring the countryside for them and their son.

They bid a quick goodnight to Sirius since they just wanted to cap off a wonderful night by sitting close by the fire. When the door closed behind him, the Potters saw a bright flash of light surround their vision and they clung tight to each other fearing the worst. A moment later, the entryway of the cottage was deserted.

Ginny Potter was walking tiredly through her home in Godric's Hollow. She was still amazed that it was in one piece, even after all of this time. After the war, Minister Shacklebolt gathered some of the most powerful wizards in the world to reconstruct Harry's parents' cottage as a 'thank you' for saving the world from destruction by Voldemort. Harry had tried to refuse, but he was actually very touched by the gesture, and extremely happy to have the house restored to its former glory, before Voldemort ripped his world apart. It was into this home that Harry and Ginny moved after their marriage four years after the Battle of Hogwarts. That was five years ago, and everything was well since then.

Ginny loved her life. She had married the man of her dreams, and she had two beautiful children, James Sirius, two and a half, and Albus Severus, one. She was currently pregnant with her third child. And these three miracles were the cause for her exhaustion.

She had Albus trailing behind her as she searched for where James was hiding, when a bright light filled her foyer.

She quickly grabbed Albus from the floor and whipped out her wand, after all, war instincts did not just die and this could be someone out for revenge on Harry.

As the light faded, there stood two figures, a tall man with messy jet black hair and glasses surrounding brown eyes, and a slightly smaller woman with long red hair and bright emerald eyes. The fact that the two people looked like James and Lily Potter immediately angered Ginny. Whoever had sought to hurt Harry and her family by posing as the deceased couple would live to regret it.

James and Lily reappeared in their entryway, but something was off. They suddenly got out their wands, they were in wartime, and looked around. They were shocked and angered when they saw a young red headed woman holding their son with a wand pointed at them. They could not understand how this woman could have gotten through the Fidelus to kidnap Harry, but she would definitely live to regret it.

Please REVIEW - good reviews and constructive criticism appreciated!


	2. Misunderstandings and Confusion

_**Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not live in a castle in Scotland and I am NOT JKR! I own nothing!**_

_**A/N: I realize that I forgot the disclaimer in chapter one so sorry about that. I finally figured out how to format this right so it should be a bit easier to read this time. Enjoy!**_

**Chapter 2 - Misunderstandings and Confusion**

Harry Potter was just finishing off his day in the Auror department, and was getting ready to head over to the apparation point in the office. As he walked, he wondered about the unusualness of the event. Normally he would just walk down to the Atrium of the Ministry and Floo home, but today there was a nagging desire to apparate. He supposed that this change in his routine was just a consequence of exhaustion, the office had him working non-stop and his sons were never ending bundles of energy, and with Ginny being pregnant he tried to give her as much of a break from them in the evenings as possible. He also told himself that he wanted to avoid the stares today, the stares that still followed him constantly, even nine years after he had defeated Voldemort. Maybe the reason was that he just desperately wanted to be at home with his wife and sons.

He got to the apparation point, and with a wave to a fellow Auror and a turn, he was gone.

At Potter Cottage, Lily and James and Ginny were still caught in a stalemate that seemed to last hours, but was really only a minute or two. The tension was building between the three, and none of them knew who would be the first to attack, but none wanted to be the one to kill without cause. So they stood stock still, wands pointed at each other, waiting for the worst to happen.

Lily and James were fuming, and trying to figure out who this girl was, and how she was able to get into their home. They were also trying to devise a way of getting 'Harry" back without hurting him. Ginny, meanwhile, was trying to decide what to do with these imposters, and hoping she could have it all taken care of before Harry got home. She was also a bit nervous, as she was outnumbered and she had to protect her sons, one of which she had yet to find. Everything came to a head when Albus was the first to speak.

"Da!" Albus cried upon seeing James. He couldn't understand why his dad was standing right in front of him and hadn't said hi yet. He also wanted to know who the strange lady was.

"Yea buddy it's me, you're ok." James responded to the child's call.

"Don't talk to my son! Who are you?" Ginny yelled at the two. She was done with the silent tension that had settled around her. This was her house and her family, and she wanted to know who it was that was threatening that, even if it was the last thing she would do.

"You're son! That's my son! And how dare you come into our house, trying to kidnap him, and then have the audacity to call him yours!" By this point Lily had had enough. She just wanted her son back in her arms and this girl out of her house.

"Who are you and why do you look like Lily and James Potter? If you think that you can enter _MY_ home and threaten _MY_ family looking like them then you have another thing coming!" Ginny was beginning to get really confused. If these people were just trying to hurt Harry, then why would they claim this was their house, and that Albus was their son?

"We look like the Potters because we _ARE_ the Potters! Something you knew very well when you came here and took Harry. How you got past Sirius I will never know, but it is a technique that you will not spread to your little Death Eating friends or to your precious master! Now hand Harry over to me and I may let you live long enough to get a trial and a lifetime sentence in Azkaban." James fumed.

At this statement, Ginny got even more confused than before. These two acted as if Albus was Harry, and they really were her deceased in-laws. But that wasn't possible…right? People couldn't be raised from the dead.

Ginny, however, did not get much time to think on it. Right then, she heard the pop of apparation right between the couple and herself. It took her a nano second to realize that it was Harry home from work, but before she could say anything in greeting, it was too late.

As soon as James heard the pop of apparation, that was it. Nobody had the ability to apparate in to, or out of, the cottage. Not even him, his closest friends, nor Dumbledore himself, had the power to break through the wards the headmaster had set against apparation. To get through them, someone had to be using very powerful, and probably very dark, magic against them. So when the pop was heard, he did not give the intruder time to attack, he fired.

"REDUCTO!" he yelled, and the spell shot from his wand towards the man in front of him.

_**TO BE CONTINUED...**_

_Hi All! I am soooooo sorry for the late update! School got crazy and all of a sudden I haven't updated in a month! Once again I am so very sorry. I will try not to leave it so long between updates again. Anyway, I hope you liked the new chapter. Please let me know what you think in a review. Short or long, good or bad (as long as it is constructive criticism) it is all appreciated. Also if you have an idea about the story, let me know. I can't guarantee that it will happen, but I can try to fit it in._


	3. Actions and Consequences

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing! Writing this is purely for fun...I am not JK Rowling and there is no copyright infringement intended.**_

* * *

_Last time..._

_As soon as James heard the pop of apparation, that was it. Nobody had the ability to apparate into, or out of, the cottage. Not even him, nor his closest friends, nor Dumbledore himself, had the power to break through the wards the headmaster had set against apparation. To get through them, someone had to be using very powerful, and probably very dark, magic against them. So when the pop was heard, he did not give the intruder time to attack, he fired._

"_REDUCTO!" he yelled, and the spell shot from his wand towards the man in front of him._

* * *

When Harry arrived at home he looked up and saw just what he wanted to, his beautiful wife holding his son. In the split second he was looking at them, he heard the spell being cast. He spun quickly around, pulled his wand, and shot "Expelliarmus" at his attacker before he even looked at James.

As he turned he realized that the spell was shot straight at him, but before he could react it hit him square in the chest.

He looked up at his attacker and saw Lily and James standing in the doorway. He looked into their eyes, confused and said quietly "Mum…Dad?" with what little breath he had left. With that he fell to the ground.

* * *

Ginny watched with horror as the man she loved more than anything was struck with the spell. She could think of nothing else as he fell, almost as if in slow motion, to the ground. She ran to him, put Albus down beside her, and cradled Harry's head in her lap as he gasped for air.

"Harry?" she said with a quivering voice and tears in her eyes. He looked up into the chocolate brown eyes that he loved so much, and said only on word, "Ginny…"

And with that he breathed out, his eyes closed, and his body slumped. Harry was gone.

"NOOOOOOO!!!!!! No, no, no, NO!!! HARRY!!!! Harry, no!" Ginny cried. Her body was wracked with tears of grief and longing for this all to be a terrible dream. It just could not be happening again.

* * *

Ginny's screams brought little James out of hiding. He came running to see what had his mother so upset. Upon seeing his father lying on the ground, he went running to him and began to shake him.

"Daddy home! Daddy play! Daddy up, up, UP!!" He continued to shake Harry, wondering why he would not get up and play. He looked into his mother's face and began to cry. He did not know what was going on, but he had never seen his mum so upset and it scared him. So, he began to cry as well.

Albus looked down at Harry from where he stood and he started to cry as well. He had seen his dad fall down, and would not get back up again. He ran over to his mum and hugged her tight, seeking the comfort that only she could provide for him, and his older brother joined him at Ginny's side.

* * *

Ginny tried to hold her two sons and her husband all at the same time, and she wasn't doing very well at it, but at this point she didn't care. She needed to be touching Harry, yet she needed the boys as well. She clung to them for dear life, the only part of her husband that was still here. With that thought she remembered the baby she was carrying, and clung to her stomach as well.

* * *

Meanwhile the older Potter couple stood stock still in the doorway surveying what was going on. James was still without his wand from Harry's spell, and the two looked simply dumbfounded. The girl, who they thought was taking their son, was falling to pieces in front of their eyes, and the two young black haired boys were still trying to rouse the man they recognized as their father. They also could not get over the fact that the man had turned to them and called them "Mum and Dad."

They looked at each other, almost as if silently communicating. They knew that they were both thinking the same thing. He had addressed them as if they were his parents, and the redhead in front of them had called him Harry…but what they were thinking was impossible…right?

This man lying before them could not possibly be their son…they had not time-traveled. It was impossible that this was _their _Harry, because that would mean that they had…NO it wasn't him.

But as they looked at his face through the veil that Ginny's fiery red hair created over it, they could see those emerald eyes that told them all they needed to know.

* * *

Suddenly there was another shout, "NOOOOOOO!!!!!"

Teddy Lupin, Harry and Ginny's godson had been up in his room as all of these events were playing out, but he was pulled from his muggle homework at Ginny's scream. At first, he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know what was going on, after all, anything that had Ginny Potter screaming like that could not be good.

His curiosity, and his fears got the better of him, and he went to the top of the stairs to see what was going on. Upon seeing what he did, he realized that he was right to not want to come see what the commotion was.

He went running down the stairs to his godfather's body, and joined in the crying vigil that was centered at his head.

The young metamorphagus was donning the "Potter hair" that he so often did when he stayed with the Potters, at least while they were in the house. (Outside, he mainly stuck with teal locks.) It made him feel like a part of the family, not that he had ever felt excluded. He had come to be considered the unofficial eldest Weasley grandchild, and he was a part of the Potter family since day one. He spent a majority of his time with the Potters now, since his grandmother had taken ill, and though doing okay now, was not strong enough to care for a young boy.

Harry and Ginny had seen to it that he was always welcomed as a part of their family. They were his second parents, his mum and dad. He knew who his mother and father were; Harry, Ginny and his grandmother Andromeda had seen to that as well, telling him all the stories he wanted about them, but Harry and Ginny were his mum and dad. They were there when he needed someone to talk to, when he was really missing his parents more then usual, and any other time that he had needed them in his almost ten years of life.

"No, no, no." He said over and over again. "I already lost one father, I can't lose you too, I just can't!"

At this statement, Ginny pulled him into the very wet family hug that had been created; her and her three boys.

* * *

Lily and James were looking on ashamed and uncomfortable. They didn't know how to react. They had essentially just killed a man they knew was probably their son, and were watching his family break down in front of them. All they kept thinking was "What kind of parent am I?"

* * *

Ginny disentangled herself from the boys, and the two youngest continued to hold onto Teddy, knowing that their big brother was there for them.

Ginny shifted her position slightly so that she was kneeling at Harry's side. She looked up at her sons, all three of them, because although she did not give birth to Teddy, she had the close relationship with him that she had with her other sons. She would protect all of them with her life if she had to, and she did not think that Tonks would take offence to her relationship with Teddy, nor the fact that he called her mum. Her and Harry had made sure that he knew who his parents were, and after all, Tonks did make her his godmother.

_Harry_. That thought pulled her from her musings. She looked down at the man she loved and sadness, and a bit of anger resurfaced.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!!! HOW DARE YOU LEAVE ME HERE ALONE! YOU PROMISED ME THAT YOU WOULD NEVER LEAVE ME AGAIN, AND HERE YOU HAVE LEFT ME WITH THREE BOYS AND ANOTHER BABY ON THE WAY!"

At this the boys tears doubled, and any lingering doubts that James and Lily may have still had that this was there son vanished.

Ginny was crying again and slightly pounding on Harry's chest. She just could not believe that she was alone; he had left her when he had promised he wouldn't. She knew it was not his fault, and had she been thinking rationally she would have given that aspect of the situation more thought. As it was, she was much too distraught to do much more than cry and scream at her husband's body.

After a few minutes, her screams lowered in volume until they were nothing more than whimpers and softly spoken words. She went quiet for a minute, and then her voice and her anger returned.

"Harry James Potter, you get up right this instant," she said sternly. Usually when she used that tone, Harry would stop whatever he was doing, and do what she said to with an obedient "Yes dear." However she knew that that would not be the case this time. This was the one thing that he could not do for her.

She had tears running down her face as she continued pointlessly reprimanding him.

"Harry, I forbid you to be dead! I love you and you cannot leave me here. Harry James Potter, you are not allowed to be dead, so get up off the floor this instant!"

...

"Yes, Dear."

* * *

_**A/N: Hello readers! Happy late Thanksgiving to all those who celebrate it. I hope you all liked the new chapter. Thank you to those of you who sent me suggestions. As I said I cannot guarantee they will get into the story, but they will be taken into consideration for future chapters. Thanks again to all those who favorited this story and reviewed! You guys make the writing process more fun. Please let me know what you think of this one!**_

**_REVIEW!!_**


	4. Explanations

_**A/N:** This takes place during the last chapter_

_**Disclaimer:** I do not live in Britain, therefore I am not JK Rowling_

* * *

_Last Time..._

_When Harry arrived at home he looked up and saw just what he wanted to, his beautiful wife holding his son. In the split second he was looking at them, he heard the spell being cast. He spun quickly around, pulled his wand, and shot "Expelliarmus" at his attacker before he even looked at James._

_As he turned he realized that the spell was shot straight at him, but before he could react it hit him square in the chest._

_He looked up at his attacker and saw Lily and James standing in the doorway. He looked into their eyes, confused and said quietly "Mum…Dad?" with what little breath he had left. With that he fell to the ground._

* * *

_Ginny watched with horror as the man she loved more than anything was struck with the spell. She could think of nothing else as he fell, almost as if in slow motion, to the ground. She ran to him, put Albus down beside her, and cradled Harry's head in her lap as he gasped for air._

_"Harry?" she said with a quivering voice and tears in her eyes. He looked up into the chocolate brown eyes that he loved so much, and said only on word, "Ginny…"_

_And with that he breathed out, his eyes closed, and his body slumped. Harry was gone._

_

* * *

_

Harry slowly awoke to find himself lying on a hard surface. He carefully stood up and found himself in a spotlessly clean King's Cross Station. His eyes widened as he remembered what had happened in his foyer.

"Oh no," he whispered.

It was then that he looked down to find himself, once again, naked.

"Cloths please," he said, and with that they appeared next to him. He quickly put them on, continuing to mutter "Oh no, oh no, oh no," as he did so.

When he was fully clothed, he let out a sigh and screamed to the empty station, "THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING AGAIN!"

"I assure you Mr. Potter, it is," a voice said from behind him.

Harry spun around, startled, and looked at the man standing before him.

"You know, I never thought your father would actually kill you," Severus Snape said with a slight smirk. "And the funny part is he was trying to protect your son, who he thought was you, from you."

Harry could not believe what was going on. When he spun around, he half expected to see Dumbledore again, not Snape. As he stood there, so many things that he had wanted to say to the man came rushing forth at once, leaving him without a clue as to what to say first. "Professor Snape…I…"Harry started, but ha was stopped when the other man raised his hand.

"Please Harry, call me Severus. I think that you have done and seen enough to use my first name." At Harry's hesitant expression, Severus continued, "When you speak to Professor McGonagall, do you not call her Minerva, and do you not address Professor Dumbledore's portrait as Albus?"

"Well yes, but" Harry started, but he was once again cut off.

"Well then you can call me Severus," he said simply.

"Ok…Severus."

"Good, now before"

"Wait a minute," Harry interrupted, "before you go any farther can you please explain what I am doing here, because I hope this is not where I will spend the rest of eternity."

"Ah yes, curious and straight to the point as always. You are here because I requested you to be, and no, you will not spend eternity here.

"But," Harry started, but he was once again interrupted.

"If you will give me a chance I will finish my explanation and possibly answer your questions, or at least some of them since your insatiable curiosity is like that of a child."

At that, Snape looked at Harry knowingly, and Harry just looked sheepish, and suddenly found his shoes very interesting.

"Yes you were killed, and yes those were your parents that killed you. Your father always was a bit hot-headed. But since you are, well, you, and the normal rules of life and death seem to not apply to you, you will be going back."

Harry didn't know what to think about that statement. He could go back?

"I can go back?" he asked tentatively.

"Well, I cannot force you to go if you do not wish it."

"NO, NO, of course I want to go back. I can't leave Ginny alone with the three boys, and the new baby…she'd kill me!!" he said with wide eyes.

Snape chuckled lightly at that comment. He had no doubt that the young Mrs. Potter would find a way to do just that.

Harry looked at his former professor. He looked the same as always, yet there was something different about him. He looked less sickly, his sallow cheeks had a bit more color in them then Harry remembered.

"Sir…Severus, if you don't mind me saying so, you look different than I remember."

Snape chuckled lightly again, furthering Harry's confusion.

"Well I suppose I must. That brings me back to my explanation of why you are here and why I am as well. A lot has changed since you defeated Voldemort Harry, not just in your life, but in my own…well…afterlife as well. I gave you my memories, you know my life story. For most of my life I used those memories to justify my actions, in general, and more specifically pertaining to you. That night in the Shrieking Shack I could no longer do so. I hated your father, both for the way he treated me, and because Lily fell in love with him. When you first arrived at Hogwarts, I blamed you for everything that you had no control over. I blamed you for the misery your father put me through, and for your mother's death. You were the epitome of what I hated most; your mother's eyes in your father's face. As every other magical being, I knew your story, having been intimately involved in it myself. I was just waiting for you to come waltzing through the halls being thoroughly arrogant and obnoxious. I kept my promise to Albus and tried to keep you alive, though you made the feat extraordinarily difficult, for Lily, but I refused to let myself see any of her in you. I only let myself see James, and all of your "adventures" and disregard for the rules, for me, proved that there was none of her in you."

He stopped here and let out a sigh. Harry thought about what Severus had just confessed and was more confused than ever. What he said made sense, and yet it didn't. How did any of this contribute to a change in the man?

"If you are wondering as to the relevancy of my statements, I am getting to that. As I said, I blamed you and refused to see any of your mother in you, until the night of the Final Battle. After all that I had done; the unfair way in which I treated you, killing Albus,"

"But you didn't, he asked you to, it wasn't your fault," Harry interrupted.

"Ah, but you did not know that then," Snape continued, "All that you knew was that you saw me kill Albus, not the reasons behind it. Anyway, after all that, you still came to me as I lay dying. Whether you wanted to, intended to, or not, you saved me from my worst fear: dying alone. You easily could have walked away but you didn't, you knelt beside me and even looked into my eyes when I asked you to. It was only then that I realized how wrong I was, and just how much of your mother you have in you."

Harry looked back down to his shoes. He did not know how to react to what Snape was saying. It sounded almost as if he was apologizing to him for his treatment of him, but that couldn't be…right?

"You still look confused. Among other things, I am here to apologize to you. I prejudged you based on the actions of your father. I prejudged you, and then I became blind to your true self, even after concerns were voiced by my fellow faculty members, and that was unfair to you. For that, I apologize."

Harry stood there, moth gaping, staring in shock at what he had just heard, and from Severus Snape's mouth of all people!

"Close your mouth, you are not a fish. I am also here because I wanted to thank you."

This shocked Harry even more than the apology. What could Severus Snape possibly have to thank him for?

"But…what?" was all he could manage to get out.

"You convinced the world of my true allegiances, no matter how hesitant they were. It was only due to your efforts that I was given a proper burial, and only you could have convinced Minerva to hang my portrait with the other headmasters, especially after you refused to show her my memories."

"They weren't mine to show."

"I thank you for that as well. After all I had done, you showed me the kindness and respect towards my memory and my privacy. I know that you showed no one those memories, and told only Mrs. Potter what was contained in them. And then, years later, you give me the honor of naming your son after me. I hardly deserved that, but I am honored."

"It was the least I could do. You saved my life so many times, you saved my wife and friends while the Carrows were running Hogwarts, and you saved the world by leading me to the sword."

"You really are too kind. I must say that your mother was in hysterics when you brought the newborn Albus Severus to my grave. She" but Snape was quickly cut off.

"My mother?! How do you know that?"

"Your parents met me when I entered 'the next great adventure' as Albus would say. Your mother and father thanked me for looking out for you all those years, though I did receive a good pranking for my behavior. Over the past years, your mother and I have rebuilt our friendship, and your father and I have come to a mutual understanding. We aren't best friends, but we are civil, polite, and perhaps a bit friendly to each other when the need arises, especially when your mother invites me to dinner. He really isn't that bad when he isn't being an arrogant toerag." He paused briefly and Harry looked incredulous.

"I never thought I would hear you, of all people, say that of all things."

"Yes. Our relationship is not unlike that or yourself and young Mr. Malfoy."

"My relationship, if you can call it that, with Draco is nothing like that! I may have a mutual understanding with him, but I am sure not inviting him to dinner!"

"Ah yes, you haven't reached that quite yet."

"Huh?"

"Very articulate Potter. Now I see why you are asked to make all those speeches of yours."

"Seriously, what did you mean by that?"

"That is the explanation you have been waiting for, I'm sure, because it will explain everything else. You may not be civil to Draco yet, but you will be in time."

"But how can you possibly know that?

"Quiet Potter and I'll tell you! Over the years I have become friends with Fate. She can see what is to be, even years in the future, and often tells me what is going to happen in the lives of those I knew. That is all I will say on that though. Anyway, we were talking one day and"

"About ME!!!" Harry interrupted yet again, "What about me? What's going to happen?"

"Just relax boy! Dear Merlin let me finish before you ask a hundred questions!"

"Yes sir," Harry muttered as he looked down at the ground. He wasn't quite sure if he should be insulted, angry, or embarrassed at the comment.

"Fate was mentioning how she felt bad for dealing you such a bad hand, even though everything did turn out…relatively…okay. She said that she wished she could give you a gift or something to make up for it, but she couldn't think of anything. I thought about it for a while and told her that the perfect gift would be giving you a chance to meet your parents without the possibility of messing up the timeline. She agreed and figured out a way. Now your parents are in your foyer straight from 1981." Severus said with a smile.

Harry took everything in for a minute before replying, "the only problem is that now I'm dead, and I'm sure my family is mourning me," he groaned, "Poor Ginny is already overly emotional thanks to the baby. Yeah, great plan Fate, Thanks!" he said sarcastically, his voice getting louder with every word.

"Well that's the glitch, yes. Because this wasn't supposed to happen, Fate had no idea what the outcome would be. She didn't realize the huge misunderstanding that occurred between your wife and your parents."

"What do you mean misunderstanding?"

"Well, Ginny thought that your parents were neo-Death Eaters trying to hurt you by looking and acting like your parents. Meanwhile, your parents were transported from their foyer in 1981 to the same one in 2007, and Albus looks just like you, so they think Ginny is a Death Eater stealing you."

"Wow" was all Harry could say for a while. "That is quite a misunderstanding."

"Indeed" Snape agreed with a quiet chuckle.

"So what happens now?"

"Well you will go back to your life and enjoy your parents while you have them."

"How much time do I have?"

"They will be with you for one month. James and Lily will disappear from the foyer exactly 30 days from midnight tonight. They will be returned to the precise time they left, without any memory of their time with you or your family, so you don't have to worry about messing with history. They can only be seen by those you introduce them to, outside your immediate family, so your family and close friends can meet them, yet they can leave the house without causing a stir." Snape explained.

"So I loose them in a month." Harry stated rather than asked.

"Harry, may I give you some advice?" He nodded solemnly. "Cherish every minute you have."

"I will. Thank you for everything Severus." Harry said as he offered his hand.

"No Harry," Severus said as they shook hands. "Thank you."

With that, they both disappeared from the platform.

* * *

_**A/N on Ginny:** Ginny was a bit OOC in the last chapter by disolving at Harry's "death" because I figure that she has already had to see him dead once, and twice would be brutal. Not only that but being pregnant and hormonal I thought she may be less rational then normal. In my head she didn't act against Lily and James because they were in such shock at everything that happened, but if they had done something she would have snapped back into war-mode without even thinking about it. Not only that but she knows that the Death Eaters usually stick with Unforgivables, and she had already started to figure out their identities. _

_**A/N on Snape:** I know that Snape is OOC in this chapter but I think that after all he's done he deserves to be happy in his afterlife, and that means being friends with Lily and at least civil with James so he won't be the but of everyone's jokes._

_**A/N:** Ummm...(peeks out from behind wall)...am I forgiven? I'm really sorry that it took so long. I wanted to get it up sooner, then it was so long and I only wanted to give you guys the best I could and I wasn't really happy with what I had written. Anyway, It is finally up. Thanks to everyone for sticking with me and thanks especially to Katie for letting me bounce ideas off her, proofing the work, and getting me to get writing. _

**Please Review!!!**


	5. Waking Up

**DISCAIMER: I was born in the USA and not in Britain, therefore I do not own Harry Potter.**

* * *

_Last Time..._

_"Harry, may I give you some advice?" He nodded solemnly. "Cherish every minute you have."_

_"I will. Thank you for everything Severus." Harry said as he offered his hand._

_"No Harry," Severus said as they shook hands. "Thank you."_

_With that, they both disappeared from the platform._

* * *

As Harry woke up he stayed still for a moment, slowly cataloguing each part of his body, mentally checking that everything was in working order. Finally he realized he could hear crying, which he assumed was coming from the boys as he could hear his wife yelling at him.

"Harry James Potter, you get up right this instant."

Of course she was mad at him. He knew that tone of voice; that was her "no nonsense" voice she used when she had had enough of his goofing off and wanted him to do something right away. This was definitely going to be interesting.

"Harry, I forbid you to be dead! I love you and you cannot leave me here. Harry James Potter, you are not allowed to be dead, so get up off the floor this instant!"

He knew that he needed to make himself known. It killed him to hear Ginny so distraught because he was, well, supposedly, dead. So the only thing he could do was answer the way Ginny would normally expect him to…

"Yes, Dear," he said simply.

…

"Harry?"

"Dad?"

"Daddy?

"Da?"

His family was understandably astonished. He probably would be too. I mean, who else returns from the dead with the same frequency that he seems to.

* * *

Ginny was reeling. Her eyes and ears must be playing tricks on her. Harry could not possibly be alive. A reductor curseto the chest would have crushed all of the bone, muscle and organs there, no one could possibly survive that…right? But then this was _Harry Potter_ they were talking about and he did have a tendency to survive the unsurvivable.

'Wait a minute…' she said to herself 'why am I questioning this? He's alive and nothing else matters.

When Harry responded with a "yea it's me" Ginny realized that this entire thought process only took about half a second. The minute Harry was done talking, all four of them jumped on him in one large dog-pile, all trying to get at him; well Ginny and Teddy did, the two little ones just thought it was a new game, hop on pop.

* * *

"Oooof" was all Harry could say as his family jumped on top of him. That reductor curse may not have killed him, but his chest was still a bit sore from the impact of it.

Still, all he could do was hug them to him tighter and try to show them all how much he loved them, and how glad he was to be back with them.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lily and James Potter looked on at the scene in front of them utterly bewildered. They had just realized that they had accidentally killed their son, when he is inexplicably alive again.

Whoever this red-headed woman was, whom they were beginning to guess was Harry's wife, she must be very powerful to just forbid him to be dead, and then he isn't. They just couldn't figure it out.

They were also rather helpless as they were still wandless from the disarming spell Harry had shot at them, and they were trying desperately to stay in the shadows and not intrude on this rather intimate family moment.

* * *

Finally, Harry decided that is was high time he got up off the floor.

"Ughhh, could you all get off me so I can get up please?"

'Oh yea, sorry" Ginny replied sheepishly as she and Teddy got the boys off him and helped him up.

"Thank you."

"Harry, what…I don't…I don't understand. What happened? How are you here? Not that I'm complaining or anything, I'm just very confused." Ginny asked.

"I will explain that in a minute, but first…" he trailed off turning at last to the forgotten couple in the corner. "I hear that there has been a bit of a misunderstanding here today." As he said this he looked back and forth between his wife and parents.

"You believe that this beautiful young woman is kidnapping your son Harry Potter correct?" James and Lily nodded their heads slightly. They had begun to figure it out, but were still unsure of just what was going on.

He turned now to Ginny, "and you believe that these are imposters sent to hurt us?" Again he received a nod in acknowledgement. Harry went quiet for a moment, trying to figure out the best way to go about explaining what Severus had told him. He finally decided that the only way to do it would be the most direct approach.

"Alright, I think introductions are in order, followed by explanations in the sitting room. As you probably deduced from the bit of yelling earlier," Harry turned with a roguish grin to Ginny who gave him a look that said 'well what did you expect' while simultaneously looking a bit sheepish. "This is my family, my wife Ginny and our children, Theodore "Teddy," James, and Albus," he pointed to each of the boys in turn.

He then took Ginny's hand and gestured to the couple in the corner, "and these two really are my par…"

Harry was cut off as noise erupted from the next room and bodies began to tumble out of the fireplace.

* * *

**A/N:** (waves white flag) I surrender, please don't hurt me! I know that this has taken one year, five months and four days to post, and for that I am truely sorry. I have had half of the chapter written for over a year, but after it had been so long I did not want to disappoint with this chapter, and I just could not seem to get it right. I am still not completely happy with the result, but I wanted to put something out for everyone who has stuck with me for so long.

I am hoping that it will not be this long again before I update, but I am going to stop making promises about when I will update since I just never seem to meet the deadlines I set for myself. I _**promise**_ you that this **WILL** be finished and I will not abandon it, no matter how long it is between updates.

Thanks again to everyone who has stuck with me after so long. I love you guys!

**Please Review!**


	6. Family Affairs

**Disclaimer:** Though I would love to be, I am not British, and therefore not JKR.

* * *

_Last Time:_

_"Alright, I think introductions are in order, followed by explanations in the sitting room. As you probably deduced from the bit of yelling earlier," Harry turned with a roguish grin to Ginny who gave him a look that said 'well what did you expect' while simultaneously looking a bit sheepish. "This is my family, my wife Ginny and our children, Theodore "Teddy," James, and Albus," he pointed to each of the boys in turn._

_He then took Ginny's hand and gestured to the couple in the corner, "and these two really are my par…"_

_Harry was cut off as noise erupted from the next room and bodies began to tumble out of the fireplace._

* * *

The Weasley family was all gathered in the kitchen of the Burrow having an unexpected family dinner. The various members of the family, at least the ones that live in England, all found themselves at the Burrow for various reasons that morning, and were convinced to stay for dinner by the family matriarch. The only family that was missing was the Potters. It was during this relatively normal, boisterous, family meal that everyone's worst fears were, once again, realized.

As they sat eating, joking, and laughing, Molly happened to glance at the family clock that was now much larger than it had been, and seemed to be getting larger by the day. One of her brood always seemed to be announcing that there was a new family member on the way.

As she looked at the clock, she suddenly became very pale before letting out a scream. Ginny's hand was currently pointing at 'mortal peril' and Harry's moved from 'at work' to 'travelling' to 'mortal peril' almost instantaneously. When she screamed, everyone turned to look where she was, and they all saw a bright light overtake the clock before fading, and Harry's hand was nowhere to be seen. This had only happened once before, to Fred's hand, nine years ago, and everyone was in shock. At once they all got up to rush to the floo until they realized that someone had to stay with the children. After a quick debate, the women, with the exception of Molly, Fleur, and Hermione were forced to stay behind since Angelina was pregnant and Audrey was not strong in defensive magic. After the decision was made, Arthur, Molly, Bill, Fleur, Percy, George, Ron, and Hermione Weasley all got into the floo within seconds of each other; after all there was no time to waste, Ginny was pregnant and in danger, and Harry was…no they wouldn't think that.

None of them noticed that Ginny's hand moved away from 'mortal peril' and that Harry's had reappeared.

* * *

In the Potter house, Harry turned to look at what had interrupted him, and saw his family come pouring out of the fireplace, one right after the other. He was completely dumbfounded, as were the rest of the adults in the room, as a sea of red came tumbling into the sitting room. Ginny was the first to gather herself and break the silence.

"What are you all doing here?" she asked.

"Ginny! Are you all right, how about the baby, and the children?" Molly rushed out at the same time that Bill asked, "where is the danger?"

"I'm fine and there is no danger," Ginny replied. "Is that why you are here, on a rescue mission?"

"Well yea, we couldn't leave you here to fight by yourself when you have the boys to protect and you're pregnant." Ron got out looking a bit confused. Actually all of the Weasleys were looking slightly confused at the calm look on Ginny's face.

"And you all thought you would be of some assistance as you come, literally, tumbling out of the floo on top of each other?" asked Harry, who had escaped the Weasleys' notice up till now. "Moody would have your heads. You would have been dead before you could right yourselves if there had been any danger here." Harry said, laughing slightly at the picture that his in-laws presented, all wands drawn, slightly disheveled, and full of soot.

"But…Harry…you…I'm so confused" Percy spoke for the first time as he looked around and saw his brother-in-law looking healthy, and no threat in the foyer to be seen.

"As I was saying just before you all arrived, we need to have introductions and explanations. Why don't you all dust yourselves off and have a seat with us in the sitting room." Harry commented as he moved into the room, motioning to his parents to do so as well.

The Weasleys looked confused still, but did as he asked anyway. Harry conjured some more furniture to fit everyone, and a special one for his parents. As they sat Hermione spoke up to try to clear up some of the confusion.

"Harry, how are you alive? And why do we need introductions? We all know everyone here seeing as we are all related. And why did you conjure a couch that nobody is sitting on?" This was all said in a rush that Harry had not heard for sometime. He sometimes forgot that Hermione spoke rather quickly when she was confused, and as she was talking even faster than was her usual, it showed that she was _extremely_ confused.

"Oh yea, they're invisible to all but my immediate family" Harry spoke to himself, though the others heard and it did nothing to help the confusion, Ginny and Teddy joining in with the confused faces now. A few of those assembled thought that perhaps he had finally gone round the bend. "Let me make the introductions first as that will hopefully clear up a bit of the confusion, and then I will explain." He stood as he said this and faced the 'empty' couch, pointing to each Weasley as he said their name. "As I said before, this is my wife Ginny, and our three boys. This is her family, her parents Arthur and Molly, Her eldest brother Bill, and his wife Fleur, her next eldest brother Charlie lives in Romania studying dragons, but the next in line is Percy, his wife Audrey is missing for some reason, next is George, his wife Angelina is also missing, and finally the youngest brother and my best mate Ron and his wife Hermione, who is the sister I never had." He said all of this to a seemingly empty couch, at least to the Weasleys, which had them more confused and concerned than ever.

Meanwhile on the 'empty' couch, the Potters' eyes were bulging at the sheer volume of names that were just provided to them in a rather short space of time. They remembered Molly and Arthur from the Order, having just seen them yesterday at a meeting, but seeing the boys all grown up with wives was almost more than they could handle. It still hadn't sunk in that their son was married with children, let alone married to a girl that was only 6 weeks old when they saw her _yesterday_. As they were trying to process this, Harry continued on.

"Everyone, these are my parents, Lily and James Potter," he said triumphantly, happy to be able to say that, and finally realizing that they were really here.

As soon as Harry finished the introduction, Lily and James became visible to everyone in the room, and they all gasped. They could not believe what their friend, and their eyes were telling them.

"But Harry, you know that you cannot bring back the dead. How do you know for sure?" Hermione said.

As Hermione said that everyone turned to Harry for an answer, but Harry turned to his parents who had gone quite pale at her statement.

"I know because I do and I will explain that in a moment. In the meantime, thanks Hermione, since now I do not have to figure out how to break it to my parents that they died. You just did it for me, and so gently too."

"So it's true then? We die?" Lily asked in almost a whisper.

"Yea you do," he responded sadly, "but I'll explain about that in a moment."

"So let me get this straight, you are going to explain about your mysterious recovery, how they are here, how you know they are real, their deaths, and I'm guessing what has happened since then since they are bound to want to know?" Ginny asked.

"Uh, yea."

"This will take a while; I'm going to make some tea." Ginny said, rising from her spot next to Harry.

"I'll help you dear." Molly offered, also getting up.

"While they are doing that, why doesn't one of you get Audrey and Angelina and the kids. I assume that they are all together as you all showed up together." Harry suggested. When the men looked hesitant, he reassured them that it was safe, and George stood up and walked to the fireplace.

"Hang on a minute George," Bill said suddenly, "how do we know that this is really Harry?"

"That's true, the clock gave every indication that he was dead," Percy added.

"Then ask me something that only I would know the answer to."

"Where did you tell us you were putting _THE_ wand and why?" Hermione finally asked after they sat looking at each other for a moment.

"I said that I was putting it back where it came from because it is more trouble than its worth, and I've had enough trouble for a lifetime," he replied after a moment with a far off look in his eye.

"It's him," Ron said, and George proceeded to the floo.

"Son," James said, startling everyone, as they had half forgotten he was there, "can you please explain the 'enough trouble for a lifetime comment'."

"I will that is part of the explanations that are coming."

As soon as he finished saying this, George pulled his head out of the fireplace, and more people began to come through with Harry introducing each new addition as they came through.

"This is Percy's wife Audrey, Bill and Fleur's children, Victoire, Dominique, and Louis, Percy and Audrey's twins, Lucy and Molly, and George's wife Angelina holding their three year old son Fred II. Audrey, Angelina, kids, these are my parents, Lily and James Potter."

The new arrivals, at least those who were old enough to realize it, were shocked at the revelation and murmured a hello before Harry conjured a couch for the women, and bean bag chairs for all of the children.

Ginny and Molly arrived with tea and biscuits, and they all settled down to hear what exactly was going on.

Harry took the lead and began, "Well I guess we will begin with…"

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_

* * *

**A/N:** Once again I apologize for leaving it for so long, but hey, at least it was faster than the last update! And I know that I left you hanging and I am very sorry about that. Anyway I hope that you enjoyed it. Let me know!

_**Read and Review**_


	7. Explaining the Present

**Disclaimer:** I am not, nor have I ever been J.K. Rowling.

* * *

_Last Time_

_Harry took the lead and began, "Well I guess we will begin with…"_

* * *

"So I guess we will begin with the explanation of how my parents are here, how I know they are my parents, and how I am alive since everybody seemed to think otherwise for a bit."

"What do you mean 'seemed to think otherwise,' you _were dead_" Ginny commented somewhat angrily.

"Well, yea, true, but… I think we should begin by what happened between my parents and Ginny before I arrived home this evening, as I do not completely understand it, and then I will pick up with everything else. Mum, Dad, why don't you start. What happened just before you arrived, when you arrived, and what was going through your mind?"

"Well," Lily began, "We had just gotten home after an evening out,"

"Wait you went out?" Harry interrupted her, "But how, you could have been killed, what were you thinking?"

"We were in disguise; we just needed to get out of the house for a bit. And don't interrupt your mother like that," James chastised gently.

"Sorry," Harry replied sheepishly, "please continue."

"Anyway, as I was saying, we had just gotten home and we said goodbye to Sirius, who was watching Harry, and when the door closed there was a flash of white light, and when it faded, we were standing just as we left, in our foyer, but it was different."

"Well, now we know the reason it looked different, but at that point we were just confused and alarmed." James continued for her. "Then we saw Ginny coming down the stairs with Albus, though to us he looked like our Harry."

"He does look just like you," said Lily with a smile. Harry looked a bit proud at that comment. He had heard it before, but to actually here it from his mother was something completely different.

"Right, so we thought that someone was trying to kidnap Harry. That led to a bit of an argument between us and Ginny, and wands were present, and then…" he trailed off at the end, not really wanting to voice what happened next.

"Okay, that clears one side of it up. Ginny?" Harry said softly.

"Well, I was coming down the stairs with Al, looking for James, when I saw two people standing in our foyer. I immediately went on the defensive. These people looked so much like your parents that I just could not believe it, but since no spell can bring back the dead, I figured that they were neo-Death Eaters hell bent on hurting you by posing as them. So we started arguing, and they said something about me being a Death Eater and kidnapping their son Harry. I began to put the pieces together, but I was still hung up on the impossibility of it all. That's when you apparated home."

"Okay, thank you, I guess it's time for me to explain my part in all of this. Today I decided to apparate home rather than Floo, and though this is odd, it is the least odd of the story. Anyway, I apparated right into the foyer, in front of Ginny, and I hear the _Reducto_ curse cast. I quickly spun and disarmed my parents, just in time to be hit in the chest with the curse. That is when I died, again. The next thing I know, I am once again in the clean King's Cross between the worlds, and who do I find there but Severus Snape."

"What was that slimy Death Eater bastard doing in between? He should be rotting in the depths of Hell!" James exclaimed.

"That is ENOUGH!" Harry yelled. The children all looked frightened at their usually fun-loving father/uncle. James was speechless. "No one disrespects that man in this house. I may not be best friends with the man, but I have the utmost respect for him. He made some bad choices, sure, but the same could be said for others in the room as well," Harry continued, glaring pointedly at James. James for his part, looked properly chastised, and Lily looked both wistful for her lost friend, and proud that Harry could see past his father's prejudices at the same time.

"Anyway, Severus told me that my parents being here was a gift from Fate for dealing me a rough hand so to speak."

"That's the understatement of the century," Ron remarked. At this comment, Lily and James looked increasingly worried. Just what had happened in their son's life?

"Yes, thank you Ron. So basically, my parents will be here for a month, disappearing from the foyer exactly as they appeared. They will have a chance to learn what has happened, get to know me, us, and we can get to know them. They can go out in public since nobody outside of my immediate family, and those we introduce them to, will be able to see them. That is why they were invisible to you all when you first arrived."

"But what about the timeline?" asked Arthur. He was happy for Harry but that did not stop him from seeing the potential problems in this.

"That will not be a problem. Severus had already thought of that. They will not remember any of this, only we will. The gift was the ability to meet my parents without a risk of changing history. Everything has been thought of, there is no downside, nobody knows that they are here, except those that I want to know, and there is no way to change what has been."

"But wouldn't changing history be a good thing? We could save so many lives if they went back with the knowledge we have. We could save…" George said. He was getting excited by the mere possibility of saving Fred.

"But at what cost George? Yes, some would be saved, but how many others would be lost. By changing the past, we risk the future and the possibility of everything turning out worse than it has."  
"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" George was getting upset now. Why couldn't Harry grasp what this could mean? At this point he wasn't thinking clearly; all he was thinking was how to save Fred.

"I DON'T UNDERSTAND? WHAT DO YOU MEAN I DON'T UNDERSTAND? Don't you think I realize what that could mean, who we could save? _Me_ of all people? Don't you think I realize what saving lives could mean for Teddy? Don't you think I have thought about every death and suffered the guilt of what I could done differently to save even one of the lives I have lost, and yes I count him primarily among those. But what would be the cost of those changes? Who would we loose instead? Ginny? Angelina? You? The entire family? What children would no longer exist because circumstances changed? Teddy? James? Your unborn child? What if he was alive and he was the only one of the family to survive? How would he feel then? Think about it. Things did not turn out as well as they could have, people we love died, but it could have been so much worse." After this speech everyone got quiet for a few minutes contemplating all that had been said and all that could have been, both the positive and the negative.

"You're right." George quietly said. "I'm sorry. I know you understand."

"It's okay."

"Umm, sorry to interrupt, but what do you mean 'me of all people'?" Lily asked timidly. She did not know if she really wanted to know.

"That goes along with Dad's question about my 'enough trouble for a lifetime comment'. I guess we will get to the next. As you may remember, Hermione mentioned that you had passed when she first arrived. You know of the prophesy and what it spoke of. Voldemort heard of the first part only, that telling of a child to be born that would be the one to defeat him. It could have been either me, or Neville Longbottom. He chose me as being the bigger threat to him. This decision was the beginning of the trouble in my life that would last the next sixteen years. On Halloween of 1981, Voldemort came to our house with the intent to kill me."

"But, that's next week! We die next week? But you are so young! Oh James!" Lily said as she turned into James' shoulder and began to cry. She was leaving her baby boy, and would never get the opportunity to see him grow.

"Yes," said Harry, getting a bit choked up. He looked at Albus, who was the same age as he was in his parents' mind, and tried to imagine dealing with this kind of information. He couldn't.

"Dad met him in the foyer, trying to give Mum a chance to take me and run; he was killed instantly. Mum had run up to my room, and when Voldemort followed her up the stairs, she begged him to spare my life. He told her that she did not need to die, and that he would spare her life if she would step aside and let him kill me."  
"But I would _NEVER_ allow that!"

"No, and you didn't. He killed you when you would not give me up, and then he turned his wand at me."

"I don't want to hear this," Lily whimpered.

"How on Earth did you survive?" James questioned.

"The exact explanation will have to wait, as it pertains to events later in my life, but when he tried to kill me, his curse rebounded on him. I was taken to Aunt Petunia's and I lived there for the next sixteen years. I did not have contact with the wizarding world again until just before my eleventh birthday."

* * *

**A/N:** Hi all! I have finally finished my thesis and have found some time to write. I apologize for it being so short. I know that it ends abruptly, but I did not want to explain about Harry's years at Hogwarts, in addition to this preface of sorts, all at the same time.

I need your help. Do you want me to write about each year in detail, gloss over most of it and just focus on the main parts or the end of the year trials that he had to face every year, or do you want me to skip the explanations altogether and just jump straight into family interactions with them having already been told of the trio's adventures? Let me know what you guys think!

**_REVIEW_**


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